A Corner of Durham, N.C., Comes to Life

A wall at The Pit, a barbecue restaurant that opened in Durham in November 2013.

Justin Cook for The New York Times

August 13, 2014

Surfacing

By INGRID K. WILLIAMS

Like firecrackers exploding around downtown Durham, clusters of small businesses are popping up and enlivening one desolate block after another. Over the past months, the loudest bangs have been heard in the Central Park District near the corner of Rigsbee Avenue and West Geer Street. The intersection was first settled by Fullsteam Brewery, whose cavernous tavern lured locals (and lots of food trucks) to this previously neglected part of town. Now there’s live music, top-notch barbecue, fair trade coffee, and even valet parking on a block that five years ago was deserted after dark.

THE PIT

The first outpost of this legendary Raleigh restaurant, one of the biggest names in North Carolina barbecue, opened in November 2013. The polished spot excels at both styles of North Carolina barbecue: chopped or pulled pork from pit-roasted whole hogs seasoned with a vinegar-based sauce (eastern style) and smoky pork shoulders with a tomato-and-vinegar dip (Lexington style).

This pioneering brewery, which opened in August 2010, produces beers from regional ingredients like North Carolina persimmons, sweet potatoes and summer basil. The brewery’s tavern, with its long picnic benches, Ping-Pong table, dart boards, jukebox and piles of board games, has become the de facto community hangout where even children and dogs are welcome.

This coffee shop, which opened in early 2013, is emblematic of the district’s Do-It-Yourself ethos. What began as a popular mobile coffee vendor called bikeCOFFEE is now a cozy, crowd-funded cafe with colorful tile floors by a local artist and a menu featuring ground-to-order coffees and single-origin sipping chocolates.

An old Gulf gas station was converted into this casual restaurant and bar in 2011. The taps predominantly pour North Carolina beers, like Fullsteam’s Southern Lager and the Sweet Josie Brown Ale from Raleigh’s Lonerider brewery. In warmer months, the backyard patio transforms into a popular beer garden serving pub grub like burgers made with local pasture-raised beef.

Since opening in a former car dealership in 2010, this music hall has hosted concerts, film screenings and eclectic events, like a yacht-themed dance party. Last November, its offerings expanded with the opening of an adjacent kitchen called Parts & Labor that serves pints of mussels and fried oyster salads.